TUNIS: Supporters of the Tunisian Islamist movement Ennahda demonstrated on Friday in front of the Justice Ministry in the capital to denounce the arrest of one of its senior leaders, suspected of being involved in sending Tunisians to fight with extremists in Syria.
Protesters demanded the release of former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, vice president of Ennahda, saying the arrest earlier this week was politically motivated. They called it part of efforts by President Kais Saied to marginalize the popular movement and distract the public from his political troubles.
The protest came amid heightened political tensions in Tunisia. Just 11 percent of voters turned out for the first round of legislative elections on Sunday as many parties and voters boycotted an effort by Saied to reshape the political system.
Ennahda was the biggest party in Tunisia’s last parliament when Saied dissolved it last year. The president called the elections to create a new legislature with weaker powers, saying it would solve the North African country’s protracted economic and political crisis.
The day after the vote, an anti-terrorism judge ordered the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh, vice president of Ennahdha. The decision was linked to a broader case involving other Ennahdha officials.
At Saturday’s demonstration in Tunis, protesters chanted for Larayedh’s release and the president’s resignation. Police kept them behind metal barriers.
“The fact that 90 percent of voters abstain from going to the polls signifies a disavowal of the political process initiated by President Saied. This is the beginning of the end of this process,” Ennahda leader Noureddine Bhiri told The Associated Press.
He said that “Saied now has no other alternative but to resign and call for early presidential elections in order to protect the country against instability that can affect the entire region.”
Ennahda officials pledged to hold further demonstrations in January.
Saied rejected criticism over the low turnout in Sunday’s election, saying the most important measure will be what happens in the second round of voting on Jan. 19.
Tunisia was seen as a model of democracy in the region after protesters overthrew their autocratic leader in 2011, unleashing the Arab Spring uprisings.
Tunisian Islamist party protests arrest of senior leader
https://arab.news/nzswb
Tunisian Islamist party protests arrest of senior leader
- Protesters demanded the release of former Prime Minister Ali Larayedh
- The protest came amid heightened political tensions in Tunisia
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces
- There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led SDF
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
There was no immediate statement from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier on Saturday, a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish fighters had ended with no clear sign of whether it would be renewed, as the main Kurdish-led force in the country called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
Syria’s state news agency SANA had quoted an unnamed government official as saying that the truce had ended and the government was “studying its options.”
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq. On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
